NSW

Jeff Hanson, NSW Country and Picnic Racing. Photo: Racing Photography. After what has been a tough couple of years for most country communities, it is easy to find a reason why any country or picnic racing committee might be struggling. For Marthaguy Picnic Race Club, and the community of Quambone, the past three years have been devastating ... A social day at the races is just what Quambone and surrounding towns need, especially if they are to decompress and forget about their troubles, if only for one day.

Saturday the 8th of May - join us at the QUAMBONE Racecourse on the outskirts of the small village 50kms from Coonamble and 80 kms from Warren. The Marthaguy Picnic Races offers a great day out for one and all and a fantastic way to catch up with friends.

As major work begins on the Wiigulga Sports Complex, 12 local sub-contractors and consultants who have been engaged to date to work with Lahey Constructions on the build were welcomed to the site today by Federal Member for Page Kevin Hogan MP, State Member for Coffs Harbour Gurmesh Singh MP and Coffs Harbour Mayor Councillor Denise Knight. More local sub-contractors will join the ranks as the project progresses.

Researchers Andrew Baird and Tom Bridge from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University and Queensland Museum Network recently visited to document the biodiversity of corals in the Lord Howe Island Marine Park, accompanied by field assistants Matt Curnock and Duan Briggs. Andrew and Tom are key members of Project Phoenix, an international collaboration seeking to re-invent hard coral taxonomy, using both old methods and new technologies.

Lauren Tischendorf: The swim was a great challenge and overall I felt a well-earnt title to be the first woman (with ratification, the first recorded in history). The conditions, which I already knew about, were large swell and chop, for most of the swim. I absolutely loved it!

Here we are each taking time to pause, to reflect, to remember, to hold on to something ... what is that something?

A derelict building filled with pigeons, broken windows and damp, rotting timber isn’t usually the definition of Art Deco beauty. When that building is scored for an astonishing $1 though and revived, its transformation is just one of many putting Leeton on the map as the Art Deco capital of regional Australia.

Nicholas Sapulo. Barellan Two Blues coach Alex Lawder lamented his side’s injury troubles as they were thrashed 114-35 at home to Charles Sturt University. After last week’s loss, the Two Blues were certainly up for the fight.

A stunning projection on the waters of the Murrumbidgee River was the backdrop for an historic meeting of the Wiradjuri and Barkandji nations with Narrandera residents to return native fingerlings to the southern Murray Darling basin ... The culturally significant event was filmed by the National Museum of Australia. It was pre-empted by the historic fish kill in the Menindee on Barkindji Country in December 2018 and January 2019, with an estimated one million dead fish in the Barka/Darling River.

"Could we have come to the end of wars? Could we be the first civilisation to not have enemies? To not have something, someone else wants?"

Ali Bohn. “Mum plays 18 holes of golf twice a week. She does light exercises twice a week, she’s involved with a group who play cards, and up until COVID-19, she was doing water aerobics. She is just a very happy lady and a wonderful person. She would absolutely love this!”

Kendall Jennings. When the birthday ballot forcefully selected healthy 20-year-old men for compulsory two years’ military service and a further three years on a reserve list under the National Service Act of 1964 for the Vietnam conflict, it set forth a mateship that has not altered in 50 years. On Saturday, April 25, former Two Royal Australian Regiment (2RAR) met on the towns located on the banks of the mighty Murray River, Barham and Koondrook, to pay homage at the Anzac Day services.

After a stellar period for the stable over the last couple of months, the Milligan family continued their successful run when Faatinaat landed the prize in the John Oxley Motors Benchmark 58 Handicap at Port Macquarie on Monday. In an event considered a match race on paper with French Marine, the Glen Milligan trained filly was able to loom towards the early pacemakers, Kotinos and Manangatang, before striking the front inside the last two hundred metres.

Emma Pritchard. More than 100 people gathered at the Ramornie cenotaph on April 24 to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Kapyong, which raged for three days during the Korean War, 1950 – 1953 ... A special plaque designed by the late Major Bob Hayes as a tribute to those who served during the Korean War was consecrated by the Reverend Canon Camellia Flanagan as members of the Hayes family stood close by.

Emma Pritchard. If you asked Grafton Show President Rex Green what to expect at the 2021 Grafton Show several weeks ago, he wouldn’t even have been able to tell you if the event would go ahead. On April 23 and 24, it did, and it was a huge success. Close to $90000 in takings was recorded after the popular attraction made a highly anticipated return, delighting Clarence Valley residents and visitors who were forced to wait an additional twelve months for it to happen.

Geoff Helisma. ... The Browns’ successful $1.265million bid for the property – the store, a residence and five units – fulfilled their long-held desire to purchase the property ... Mr Brown said he is comfortable withe the price. “We were always prepared for the price to go higher … factoring in the price of real estate in Yamba and Coffs Harbour; in theory it should have been more like $2m,” he said. “The last house sold in Brooms Head went for $1.5m; it was a knock down house.